The Servant (1963 film)
The Servant is Harold Pinter's 1963 film adaptation of a 1948 novelette by Robin Maugham. A British production directed by Joseph Losey, it stars Dirk Bogarde, Sarah Miles, Wendy Craig and James Fox. It opened at London's Warner Theatre on 14 November 1963.Kinematograph Weekly vol 558 no 2928, 14 November 1963 The first of Pinter's three film collaborations with Losey, which also include Accident (1967) and The Go-Between (1971), The Servant is a tightly-constructed psychological dramatic film about the relationships among the four central characters examining issues relating to class, servitude and the ennui of the upper classes.Nick James, "Joseph Losey & Harold Pinter: In Search of PoshLust Times", BFI, British Film Institute, (last updated) 27 June 2007, Web, 19 June 2009: "From Venetian decadence and British class war to Proustian time games, the films of Joseph Losey and Harold Pinter gave us a new, ambitious, high-culture kind of art film, says Nick James." Plot Tony (James Fox), a wealthy young Londoner, hires Hugo Barrett (Dirk Bogarde) as his manservant. Initially, Barrett appears to take easily to his new job, and he and Tony form a quiet bond, retaining their social roles. Relationships begin shifting, however, and they change with the introduction of Susan (Wendy Craig), Tony's girlfriend, who seems to be suspicious of Barrett and to loathe all he represents. Barrett brings Vera (Sarah Miles), whom he presents as his sister, into Tony's household as a maidservant, but it emerges that Vera is actually Barrett's lover. Through Barrett's and Vera's games and machinations, they reverse roles with Tony and Susan; Tony becomes more and more dissipated, sinking further into what he perceives as their level, as the "master" and the "servant" exchange roles. In the final scene, Tony has become wholly dependent on Barrett, and Susan is exiled permanently from the house. Cast and characters * Dirk Bogarde – Hugo Barrett * Sarah Miles – Vera * Wendy Craig – Susan Stewart * James Fox – Tony * Catherine Lacey – Lady Mounset * Richard Vernon – Lord Mounset * Ann Firbank – Society Woman * Patrick Magee – Bishop * Jill Melford – Younger Woman * Alun Owen – Curate * Harold Pinter – Society Man * Dorothy Bromiley – Girl Outside Phone Box * Johnny Dankworth – Jazz Bandleader * Davy Graham – Himself Losey's adaptation 'It was Losey who first showed Robin Maugham's novelette The Servant to Bogarde in 1954. Originally separately commissioned by director Michael Anderson, Pinter stripped it of its first-person narrator, its yellow book snobbery and the arguably anti-Semitic characterisation of Barrett – oiliness, heavy lids – replacing them with an economical language that implied rather than stated the slippage of power relations away from Tony towards Barrett.' Losey's other collaborations with Pinter, Accident and The Go-Between, share a resemblance to The Servant in that they offer the same savage indictment of the waning English class system,Losey, Joseph. "The Servant." UK: Studio Canal, 2007 a theme which British film-makers had not previously explored. Music The soundtrack, by John Dankworth, includes the song "All Gone", sung by Cleo Laine, which is used repeatedly in the film. Folk guitarist Davy Graham makes a brief cameo playing the song Rock Me Baby. Awards *'Winner' Best Cinematography - British Society of Cinematographers (Douglas Slocombe) *'Winner' Best Cinematography - BAFTA (Douglas Slocombe) *'Winner' Best Actor - BAFTA (Dirk Bogarde) *'Winner' Most Promising Newcomer - BAFTA (James Fox) *'Nominee' Best Picture - BAFTA (Joseph Losey, Norman Priggen) *'Nominee' Best Actress - BAFTA (Sarah Miles) *'Nominee' Best Screenplay - BAFTA (Harold Pinter) *'Nominee' Most Promising Newcomer - BAFTA (Wendy Craig) *'Winner' Best Foreign Director - Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Joseph Losey) *'Winner' Best Screenplay - New York Film Critics Circle (Harold Pinter) *'Nominee' Best Actor - New York Film Critics Circle (Dirk Bogarde) *'Nominee' Best Director - New York Film Critics Circle (Joseph Losey) *'Nominee' Golden Lion - Venice International Film Festival (Joseph Losey) *'Winner' Best Dramatic Screenplay - Writers Guild of Great Britain (Harold Pinter) See also * BFI Top 100 British films Notes Further reading * Billington, Michael. Harold Pinter. London: Faber and Faber, 2007. ISBN 978-0-571-23476-9 (13). Updated 2nd ed. of The Life and Work of Harold Pinter. 1996. London: Faber and Faber, 1997. ISBN 0-571-17103-6 (10). Print. * Gale, Steven H. Sharp Cut: Harold Pinter's Screenplays and the Artistic Process. Lexington. Kentucky: The UP of Kentucky, 2003. ISBN 0-8131-2244-9 (10). ISBN 978-0-8131-2244-1 (13). Print. * Gale, Steven H., ed. The Films of Harold Pinter. Albany: SUNY P, 2001. ISBN 0-7914-4932-7. ISBN 978-0-7914-4932-5. Print. *Sargeant, Amy: The Servant: Palgrave Macmillan/BFI Modern Classics: 2011: ISBN 1-84457-382-6 External links *"Films by Harold Pinter: The Servant 1963" at HaroldPinter.org – The Official Website of the International Playwright Harold Pinter *"Harold Pinter & Joseph Losey", by Jamie Andrews, Harold Pinter Archive Blog, British Library, 15 June 2009. * * – Includes "Plot synopsis" Category:1963 films Category:1960s drama films Category:1960s psychological thriller films Category:British films Category:British black-and-white films Category:British drama films Category:Elstree Studios films Category:Films about social class Category:Films based on British novels Category:Films directed by Joseph Losey Category:Films set in London Category:Screenplays by Harold Pinter